Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Images From Bexley Red Zone Rally, Sunday 9 October

Flashback to June: Army personnel shovel silt in a Bexley backyard. Already severely damaged by September and February's quakes, the magnitude 6.3 "aftershock" of June 13 created massive liquefaction across the suburb, the site of a former swamp with a murky history of development consent.

Four months later most of the suburb's residents face having to relocate. In Christchurch's distorted and largely unregulated real estate market their options are limited. On Sunday around 200 residents and supporters gathered in a small riverside park to discuss their options and call for official recognition of their plight. Some images from the rally:

The economics of being red zoned.

Waimakariri Green Party candidate John Kelcher (right).

Waimakariri MP Clayton Cosgrove among the crowd.

It would have been great to have had some input from those political parties that are becoming notable by their absence from these ongoing rallies. Or from the City Council. It's still not too late to drop by for a little appreciation: